Psychedelic Mandarin “Rescue”! (will post tons of updates on this post!**)

[Apotack]

I won’t buy from a shop that will not let you see a fish eat

 

[lucyretz]

I was too late. Tried to put them in last night. Female gone this morning. Male was in that deep sleep so put him back in the qt. I don't think he'll be alive when I get home. I'm so sad. Not buying mandi's from that place again...

Oh no I’m so sorry look for a healthy active one, try to take 10-15 minutes or even more in the store and just watch the fish. Mandarins are very active, he should be all over the place hunting pods. Make sure his eyes are bright as well, clouded over can signal a bigger problem. Skinny is never a deal breaker for me, obviously, but just make sure the fish has a will to eat. If he seems healthy and any fish with him do to, I would put it straight into the DT.

Once again I’m very sorry for your loss </3

 

[revhtree]

Awesome thread and nice job! Thanks to Algae Barn as well!

 

[AlgaeBarn]

We are excited to send Ollie the mandarin some live copepods, phytoplankton, and brine shrimp today! We are extremely grateful to have such wonderful and supportive customers, you all are really the ones who make this possible. It is easy to buy a healthy fish but it takes a truly dedicated, confident and compassionate hobbyist to purchase a skinny one and put in the effort to rehab it. Kudos to you @lucyretz!

 

[Susan Edwards]

The male was also gone. I suspected it when I left this morning but left him just in case. Fish didn't seem starved or skinny like Ollie, but I suspect they were newly caught or just in and hadn't been eating at the lfs either. Hopefully I didn't put something nasty into my tank last night with the female but from now on, if a mandi looks healthy, it goes right into the tank. It was hard to check for active as there were 5-6 of them in one of those tiny box tanks where there wasn't much room to move. My copepods and phyto arrived today.... No mandi's to feed.... I'll add them into my display. My scooter is in heaven with all the pods to himself. There are a ton of them already

 

[Ferrell]

Great job. kudos for your time and effort to save this beauty.

 

[Katrina71]

I would like to have a T-shirt from Algae Barn with Ollie's pic. Maybe we could all support Ollie...

 

[Dizzirn]

I would like to have a T-shirt from Algae Barn with Ollie's pic. Maybe we could all support Ollie...

What an awesome idea!!!

 

[aabjones888]

How awesome! Good story, I needed this today!

 

[lucyretz]

Hey everyone!

Hope everyone had a great Thursday. After a slight delay that was entirely my fault, Ollie will receive his generous gift from Algaebarn tomorrow!! There are not words to describe my gratitude for how grateful I am.

Ollie has been hanging out in my rockwork with his girlfriend, eating as many pods as his little stomach can handle. I must admit I do miss feeding him every few hours, but he did become very reliant on me so I know this is a lot better for him.

I don’t see him as much now, but I can tell you that he is gaining weight and his colouration is a lot more vibrant. I was able to capture this picture of him that I attached tonight.

The fish store that actually sold me him, is looking for an experienced fish person to work in the department. I am highly considering applying, so I can have my say on how fish like Ollie are taken care of and help educate people that may not be aware of their critical needs. I might not be able to save them all, but atleast a few will land in adequate situations.

Once again, I really want to thank everyone for the overwhelming out reach of support. From the comments, messages, generous donation from Algaebarn and R2R for featuring Ollie in the emailed news letter last night; Thank you.

From the bottom of our hearts,
Lucy & Ollie [emoji173]️

 

[Apotack]

Awesome!

 

[Katrina71]

@lucyretz the store would be lucky to have you on their team!

 

[mmw64]

+1 with @ngoodermuth good luck and hopefully he can fatten up on you. You may want to be feeding live + nutramar ova several times daily. Good luck!

Where is nutramar ova available?

 

[mmw64]

Try masstick food, my mandarin loves it

Where do you find masstick?

 

[drawman]

Where is nutramar ova available?

My local fish store caries it you may want to call around. Otherwise marinedepot and drsfostersmith have it on backorder online

 

[Dizzirn]

Where do you find masstick?

I bought it online at BRS

 

[ngoodermuth]

I bought my Ova from marine depot, but it looks like they don't have it in stock anymore. Dr Foster& Smith does:
http://m.drsfostersmith.com/product...MIlZXOnNuQ1wIVSgeGCh30lgyKEAQYASABEgKTjvD_BwE

You could also try ROE and cyclops. And supplemental pods don't hurt either!

 

[lucyretz]

Morning friends! Happy Friday!!! (Finally .. phew.)

This morning Ollie’s present from AlgaeBarn came in and I am just in awe. I really can’t believe everything this amazing company sent Ollie. [emoji173]️

Ollie came out this morning more than usual, I think he knew. Going to spot feed him some of the nano brine shrimp, will try to get some photos!

Also, T-shirts is a really cool idea. Obviously a lot would need to go into planning that out but I made a first draft this morning, and come on. How flipping cute are these.

As always thank you everyone for your continued support. We are absolutely beyond thankful, and at most times teary eyed lol[emoji173]️

Lucy and Ollie[emoji173]️

 

[Gaines69]

Wow, that is heartbreaking. Kudos to you for trying, I hope he pulls through. Can you get some nutrimar ova? That might help get a little weight on him as well.

Honestly, I don't think I'd set him free so quickly. He's going to need some major target feeding to get him out of the "danger" zone...It's rare for a mandarin to come back from being that far gone :/[/QUO
Yes try the Nutramar ova. My mandarin loves that stuff and has from day one. I also add live pods to my tank every month or two and I have a job fish breeder box that I use as a refugium just for pods.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I just picked up 2 new mandarins. Both went right into display tank. I've seen some pecking going on and one of them snapped up a hydro jellyfish! New fish store, at least tried to feed and I saw at least response for the one male. Tank was too high up and I'm far too short! So couldn't really see. But they said they do start immediately trying to get them onto a mash of frozen, pellet and dry--paste like so I know they are at least working to feed. Think other place didn't feed or try much. Both are exporing tank and rocks at least. So hopeful this time around. I'm going to look into trying to culture my own to keep a steady heavy population. Just dumped in a bag I got from Algae barn and feeding tank phyto from them also daily.